Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
PO. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ocle@oregon. uoregon.edu
Online Edition:
www.dailyemerald.com
Editor in Chief:
Andrew Adams
Associate Editors:
Jeremy Lang
Peter Hockaday
Larger OUS budget is a
good omen for Oregon
Better higher education
funding good for all
The latest news from Salem con
cerning the budget for the Oregon
University System has been the
best there's been in this otherwise
bleak session.
From a starting point of nearly
$100 million below what our seven
public universities figured they
would need for the next funding
period, we have now arrived at the
$792 million that is still below
what was originally sought by the
OUS, but is a great improvement
from where Governor John
Kitzhaber started us.
Between those two points the co
chairs of the Legislature’s Joint
Ways and Means Committee of
fered their own budgets that further
muddied the waters.
These past few months, which
witnessed this “yo-yo” ofa budget,
have been at times most distressing
to those in higher education. And not
only have administrators and profes
sors been keeping a wary eye on leg
islators, but student leaders have also
kept their fingers on the budgetary
pulse in the hopes of defeating a tu
ition increase that at times was feared
to be upwards of 10 percent.
Like the fear ofa drastically re
duced overall budget, that fear has
also failed to materialize in light of
the stabilizing efforts of the Educa
tion Subcommittee that last week
approved the $792 million budget
as well as on ly a 4 percent tuition
hike for this next year and a 3 per
cent increase to follow.
This is an encouraging sign, as it
shows our lawmakers actually had
the gumption to put some support
behind higher education during a
session in which state funds were
hard to come by and the Depart
ment of Transportation, the state
police and the Department of Jus
tice were all lobbying to preserve
their budget requests in full.
It would be easy for anyone to ar
gue that those on campus have a
self-centered view of the state budg
et and don’t take into account the
necessity of other services that had
to compete for funding. While to
some extent this is true, one also has
to understand the grave importance
of higher education to Oregon. As
this state continues to make the
painful transition from a sawmill to
computer-chip economy, it needs
qualified university graduates who
have a devoted interest in the better
ment of their home state. Leaving
the OUS scrambling to make ends
meet will just make this that much
more difficult.
Every institution in Oregon from
the University of Oregon to Oregon
State University’s fledgling Bend
campus needs the full support of
Oregon’s Legislature if we want to
remain competitive in the national
and international market.
Tainted goods
should be returned
No one can discount the value of
donations. Generous gifts have re
made our Knight Library and also es
tablished a formidable law school
here at the University. But when gifts
are received that were obtained
through ill-gotten means, then it is
time for this institution to take the
high road and return any such funds.
The Portland-based investment
firm Capital Consultants, headed by
University alumnus Jeffrey Grayson,
collapsed under federal scrutiny last
September. It would be later discov
ered that Grayson appears to have
used $355 million in funds taken
from his clients and union pension
accounts for various purposes, in
cluding huntingtrips for clients and
charitable donations. The Universi
ty received $800,000 from Grayson
and then renamed the old law
school building in his honor in part
because of that donation and the
pledgetoadd $1.5 million more.
Thomas Lennon, the receiver ap
pointed by the U.S. District Court to
liquidate Grayson’s firm, has made it
clear that he believes the University
should return those funds to Capital
Consultants’ private portfolio so the
courts can further deal with this tan
gle of financial deception.
Despite Grayson’s charitable in
volvement with the University,
which included serving in some of
its largest fundraising efforts. Uni
versity administrators should initi
ate an effort to ensure that any
funds that have any taint of corrup
tion on them not contribute to its
educational mission. Instead, they
have maintained a defense that the
University has not been explicitly
asked to return any funds and will
not even “speculate about what
would happen,” as University Gen
eral Counsel Melinda Grier said,
until it receives such a letter.
Our University should seek to
solve this problem of its own accord
and not because it is told to do so.
Recognize the value
of signing
Education is an ever-changing
mission because of our ever-chang
ing society. The standards and re
quirements set by this University
and any other institution of higher
education should reflect that.
Therefore, it makes good sense
that the University should support
a bid to extend the perimeters of its
foreign language requirement to in
clude sign language. Granted, there
are more people fluent in Spanish
and French than sign language, but
that does not diminish the value of
learning sign language. The culture
of deafness is just as legitimate of as
that of any Spanish or French cul
ture and the University should rec
ognize this by letting students com
plete their bachelor of arts degree
with two years of sign language.
Coordinating one’s words to
one's actions should be just as chal
lenging as the complexities of
French verb tenses, and unlocking
the doors to the world of the deaf
has the same merits as delving into
the Spanish culture.
Western Oregon University al
ready offers signing as a means to
fulfill a language requirement, and
this University should follow that
example.
This editorial represents the views of the
Emerald’s editor in chief and does not neces
sarily reflect the views of the Oregon Daily
Emerald.
EMU officials unwilling to collaborate
Guest Commentary
Linda
_Dievendorf
The Cultural Forum is an
experiential, student
based learning environ
ment that I inherited and
have continued to foster for the
past seventeen years. The students
teach me what they need to learn
and I guide and assist their learn
ing process. My attempts for a sim
ilar collaborative relationship
with EMU Director Dusty Miller
and EMU Director of Student Ac
tivities Gregg Lobisser have been
without success.
I believe their inability to com
municate their goals and their in
flexibility in understanding the
philosophy and operation of the
Cultural Forum led to their deci
sion to terminate my contract. It
would do well to more fully exam
ine the motives behind Dusty and
Gregg’s decision and whether this
decision best serves the University
community.
It has been my honor and privi
lege to work with some of the
brightest, most creative, resource
ful and gifted students that have
come through the University of
Oregon. I have dedicated my ener
gy, enthusiasm, talent and the
greatest part of my life for almost
two decades to student develop
ment and leadership in the Cultur
al Forum and the University. The
decision to terminate my contract
is a misuse and abuse of power,
authority and position and is fun
damentally wrong.
There have been numerous op
portunities over the last two
years to work through differences
and for Dusty and Gregg to con
sult with me and rely on my ex
pertise and insight in making de
cisions that affect my program. I
believe their refusal is an inabili
ty to embrace cooperation and
collaboration and the desire to
exercise control at any cost. And
the cost is great. Their approach
to managing breeds fear of engag
ing in meaningful dialogue and
resolution because to do so re
sults in accusations of miscon
duct, censure and termination.
The choice to manage authorita
tively, patronizingly and pater
nally erodes trust and diminish
es true participation in commu
nity. Unfortunately, theirs is a
prevailing approach to student
leaders and other program peo
ple in the EMU.
Refusing to engage the knowl
edge and resources of the student
activities and program staff is dis
respectful, unnecessarily ineffi
cient, a waste of human resources
and creates division. Attempts to
control students, student pro
grams and their resources disem
powers everyone and teaches
nothing.
The University administration
has an opportunity now to take a
bold step and commit to inclusion
— inclusion of the visions of stu
dents, staff, faculty and adminis
trators in deciding a positive fu
ture for the University and
creating an environment where
differences are honored and cele
brated. It is possible. The Cultural
Forum students and staff have
been creating and generating a
shared vision for more than twen
ty years.
Linda Dievendorf is the program coordinator
for the University of Oregon Cultural Forum.
Letters to the editor
Technological progress aids
espionage organizations
As people are certainly becom
ing aware, enormous innovations
are occurring in technology. There
truly is something of a technologi
cal revolution occurring in the
country and the world.
However, what I suspect peo
ple do not fully realize is that the
same is true with regard to tech
nological innovation useful for
espionage purposes. It is my
view that world espionage organ
izations now have technological
capabilities that allow them to
demonstrate more power in in
fluencing the affairs of societies
than ever before in history.
All the secret satellites regular
ly being sent up into space likely
allow world espionage organiza
tions increased powers to control
societies. I suspect many of the
technologies present on these
satellites would shock people
with regard to how powerful they
are in influencing events on earth.
One technology I believe is cur
rently present is a technology
called “mind control technology.”
I believe this technology is now
developed to such a degree that
the Central Intelligence Agency
and other world espionage organi
zations can influence the thought
processes in peoples’ minds. Con
sequently, I suspect these organi
zations can dramatically influence
the outcomes of elections in sup
posedly free democratic societies.
I feel the public should be made
more aware of these possibilities.
It seems that the United States’
news-providing industries have
been unusually silent with regard
to reporting on the state-of-the-art
technological capabilities of espi
onage organizations. I also suspect
it is no longer safe to watch televi
sion or listen to the radio without
risking being unknowingly influ
enced in views and attitudes.
Cordell Schubert
Danville, Ind.
The Oregon Daily Emerald welcomes and
will attempt to print all letters on topics of
interest to the University community. Letters
are limited to 250 words. The Emerald may
edit any letter for length, clarity, grammar,
style and libel. Letters may be mailed,
dropped off at EMU Suite 300, or e-mailed to
the addresses at the top of the page. Also,
please feel free to give your feedback to any
individual story or column directly at our
Web site. Feedback comments may appear
in print at our discretion. Keep in touch!
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